The effect of Spirulina platensis versus soybean on insulin resistance in HIV-infected patients: a randomized pilot study

HIV-infected patients develop abnormalities of glucose metabolism due to the virus and antiretroviral drugs. Spirulina and soybean are nutritional supplements that are cheap, accessible in our community and affect glucose metabolism. We carried out a randomized study to assess the effect of Spirulina platensis versus soybean as a food supplement on HIV/HAART-associated insulin resistance (IR) in 33 insulin-resistant HIV-infected patients. The study lasted for two months at the National Obesity Centre of Cameroon. Insulin resistance was measured using the short insulin tolerance test. Physical activity and diet did not change over the study duration. On-treatment analysis was used to analyze data. The Mann-Whitney U test, the Students T test and the Chi square test were used as appropriate. Curve gradients were analyzed using ANCOVA. Seventeen subjects were randomized to spirulina and 16 to soybean. Each received 19 g of supplement daily. The follow up rate was 65% vs. 100% for spirulina and soybean groups, respectively, and both groups were comparable at baseline. After eight weeks, insulin sensitivity (IS) increased by 224.7% vs. 60% in the spirulina and soybean groups respectively (p < 0.001). One hundred per cent vs. 69% of subjects on spirulina versus soybean, respectively, improved their IS (p = 0.049) with a 1.45 (1.05-2.02) chance of improving insulin sensitivity on spirulina. This pilot study suggests that insulin sensitivity in HIV patients improves more when spirulina rather than soybean is used as a nutritional supplement. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01141777.     

Liposomale Membranen unterschiedlicher Ladung als Diffusionsbarriere für aromatisch substituierte α-Aminoalkohole

Liposomal membranes with different charge as diffusion barrier for aromatically substituted α-aminoalcohols The method of micellar liquid chromatography is successfully used in separating a series of drugs from the membrane building lipids. Drugs, which belong to the chemical group of aromatically substituted α-aminoalcohols can be quantified UV-photometrically after separation. The experiments were carried out at pH 7.4 with soybean lecithin vesicles, which contain different charge carriers in their membrane. The incorporation of dicetylphosphate in the liposomal bilayer, which possesses two alkyl chains, leads only to the binding of certain amounts of the lipophilic drugs Propranolol and Alprenolol for at least two d. No binding effect to the membrane over a longer period could be reached for the hydrophilic drugs Oxprenolol, Orciprenaline and Sotalol in all kinds of liposomes.     

Plasma renin activity does not predict the antihypertensive efficacy of chlorthalidone

Summary It has been established that angiotensin II stimulation may limit the antihypertensive potential of diuretic therapy in some patients. It is less clear, however, whether renin-angiotensin II stimulation is the cause of the flat blood pressure dose-response relationship to diuretics. To investigate this, 75 out-patients with essential hypertension were treated with chlorthalidone 12.5, 25 or 50 mg o.d. for 3 weeks, in a double-blind, placebo controlled cross-over study.Chlorthalidone significantly reduced blood pressure in all the groups, a plateau being reached at 25 mg o.d. Similarly, plasma renin activity was increased by each dose level of chlorthalidone, but it showed a different trend, being increased to a comparable extent at 12.5 mg and 25 mg o.d., and still higher at 50 mg o.d. Thus, greater stimulation of renin was coincident with the levelling of the blood pressure response to chlorthalidone. However no significant correlation was found between interindividual plasma renin activity and change in blood pressure, either in the entire series, or in each treatment subset.The data suggest overall that renin stimulation may influence the characteristic dose-hypotensive response relationship to diuretic agents in antihypertensive therapy, but it is unlikely that measurement of individual plasma renin activity will provide an useful guide to the optimal dose of a diuretic agents.The following Centres took part in the multicentre study (Investigator, Co-Investigator):¹Pisa;²Pistoia (G. Bartolomei, G. Pettinà, F. Innocenti);³Pontedera (M.A. Cagianelli, M. Cipriani);⁴San Miniato (G. Cinotti);⁵Carrara (P. Innocenti, M. Diamanti);⁶Castelnuovo G. (C. Loni, F. Bianchini);⁷Seravezza (G. Saba);⁸Pescia (P. Saba, F. Giuntoli);⁹Volterra (L. Papi);¹⁰Roma, Ciba-Geigy Medical Department (M. Montanari)     

Evaluation of mesoporous silicon/polycaprolactone composites as ophthalmic implants

The suitability of porous silicon (pSi) encapsulated in microfibers of the biodegradable polymer polycaprolactone (PCL) for ophthalmic applications was evaluated, using both a cell attachment assay with epithelial cells and an in vivo assessment of biocompatibility in rats. Microfibers of PCL containing encapsulated pSi particles at two different concentrations (6 and 20 wt.%) were fabricated as non-woven fabrics. Given the dependence of Si particle dissolution kinetics on pSi surface chemistry, two different types of pSi particles (hydride-terminated and surface-oxidized) were evaluated for each of the two particle concentrations. Significant attachment of a human lens epithelial cell line (SRA 01/04) to all four types of scaffolds within a 24 h period was observed. Implantation of Si fabric samples beneath the conjunctiva of rat eyes for 8 weeks demonstrated that the composite materials did not cause visible infection or inflammation, and did not erode the ocular surface. We suggest that these novel composite materials hold considerable promise as scaffolds in tissue engineering with controlled release applications.     

Storytelling as part of cancer rehabilitation to support cancer patients and their relatives

ABSTRACT

Previous research on psychosocial support for cancer-related concerns has primarily focused on either patients or their relatives, although limited research is available on how patients and their relatives can be supported together. The aim of this article is to explore the use of storytelling as a part of a residential cancer rehabilitation intervention for patients together with their relatives, with a specific focus on their management of cancer-related concerns. Ten pairs participated in the intervention and data were generated through ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observations, informal conversations and follow-up interviews conducted one month after completing the intervention. Analysis was performed drawing on narrative theory combined with social practice theory. The results demonstrate that the use of storytelling and metaphors intertwined with other course activities, such as dancing and arts & crafts, provided the patients and their relatives with strategies to manage cancer-related concerns, which they were later able to apply in their everyday lives. The study results may be useful to other professionals in clinical practice for rehabilitation purposes for addressing issues of fear and worry.